Civic amenities defy Ranjit Avenue's up market image

Though Ranjit Avenue is one of the most preferred localities in the city as far as housing, retail and hospitality is concerned, yet the area craves for basic civic amenities.

Since it is counted among the posh areas of Amritsar, the locality attracted the attention of the government, which chose it as a venue for the district shopping complex planned on the lines of sector 17 in Chandigarh in 1984, though the project became reality in 1995. However, absence of the basic civic amenities is quite palpable in this marketplace and other sectors of the apparently posh locality.

And the Amritsar Improvement Trust, under whose purview the locality falls, and the Amritsar Municipal Corporation, which collects house tax from the establishments situated here, are responsible for the neglect being meted out to the locality. To begin with, the area is marred by broken roads. The faulty sewerage system is another aspect that needs due attention of the authorities, but is hitherto ignored.

Sanitary conditions prevailing here too are far from satisfactory with an entire plot having been converted into a garbage dump. The road to airport from B-Block market depicts the terrible condition of this area. The muddy bumpy road with no sign of road and street lights, surrounded by heaps of garbage, speaks a volume about the reality of this posh area.

Lack of security is another big issue that is yet to be tackled seriously. The roads in the area appear secluded without any security personnel on watch or any check post. Consequently, the incidents of snatching are very frequent here. The web of wires criss-crossing the lanes not only make the area ugly, but also pose difficulties for the commuters.

All this, and much more prevails in the area irrespective of the fact that the office of the Amritsar Improvement Trust is situated right in its midst. With no better facilities to offer, this area weighs heavily on the residents' pockets. As per the Amritsar Collector's Rates list, one may have to spend a minimum `21 lakh to buy a 10,000 square yards plot.

This is the amount scribbled on papers only which actually runs into millions. Even after being forced to part with such a big amount of money, the residents hardly have any access to the basic civic amenities and sanitation.Residents' Speak

Jagroop Dhillon, director, Mothers' Pride

We are running a school in the area for the past two years. The area hardly has anything in the name of amenities. Our school does not even have access to the sewerage line. We are troubled by pitiable condition of roads and water logging.Dev Preet Singh, resident

Broken roads and heaps of garbage are not new to the city. The biggest issue ailing the Presence of stray dogs and frequent chain snatchings also haunt us all the time.

Monika Kashyap, manager, VLCC

Considering the condition of the area, I would not even grade it one out of 10. There is hardly any good park, no foot-path for the pedestrians and garbage piled up here and there.

Harman Deep Kaur, resident

Ranjit Avenue needs only one good shower and it converts into a pond. Presence of garbage heaps further aggravates the prevailing scenario. Commuters have to cope up with broken roads all the time.Sandeep Rishi, chairman, Amritsar Improvement Trust

Work orders for some of the projects have been completed. All the developmental projects intended for Ranjit Avenue are likely to start in the first week of October.